?Last night we blew the doors off the election,? she said. ?Broward is back as far as being a Democratic stronghold.?

Wasserman Schultz said it helps dispel the view that the Democratic condominium-based voters, long the basis of party strength in Broward, is rapidly diminishing.

?We are able to string together, with maybe a slackening of the condo base, a Democratic voting bloc to string together victories statewide and nationally.?

Wasserman Schultz won 77.7 percent of the vote against challenger Margaret Hostetter. That?s an improvement. Against the same challenger when she was first elected to Congress in 2004, she won 70.2 percent. In 2006 she wasn?t challenged.

Wasserman Schultz, who has a strongly Democratic district, said the shape of districts ? rather than any lack of voter support for Obama ? is the reason Democrats couldn?t defeat any Republican incumbents in Broward.

As for the other top tier race in Broward, the contest for sheriff, she said Republican Al Lamberti?s narrow win doesn?t mean there was no Obama effect.

?The sheriff?s race was a complicated mess,? she said.

?If not for Barack Obama?s coattails Sheriff Lamberti would have won by a much wider margin. You had the Republican Party put all their eggs in the sheriff's basket.?

She said the Republicans? heavily funded advertising campaign raising questions about Democratic nominee Scott Israel also hurt by reminding people of the last Democratic sheriff, Ken Jenne, who had to leave office when he went to federal prison on federal corruption charges. Lamberti was appointed to replace Jenne.

?They made a huge effort at trying to taint Scott Israel and I think they were successful enough in doing that that given the concerns that the voters had about the Sheriff?s Office prior to now, that was enough to pull Lamberti over the finish line.

?In a normal situation in a presidential election year in Broward when the presidential nominee wins by a 200,000 vote plurality you would have had a Democratic blowout for sheriff.?

As for her own re-election, Wasserman Schultz said she was gratified to increase her margin of victory.

?I?ve been really outspoken, and most people like that ? but some people don?t,? she said. ?I was pretty excited.?